Tuesday, February 07, 2006

I had to go to the DMV today. It's my birthday, so as a birthday present my license expires. Wow.

I've been to the DMV in Arkansas and Missouri. Both of those are a piece of cake. No appointments, not much waiting, the other people there are nice. Not my experience in California.

I called in last week because I never got renewal paperwork in the mail, and my license was about to expire. They told me I didn't get the paperwork because I moved, and they had no record of my move on file (even though I mailed in the form and carry the change of address card behind my license). So I had to go in for an eye test, and I couldn't do that without an appointment. You can't set same-day appointments, so I scheduled it for Thursday afternoon. I had unexpected car trouble Thursday afternoon, so I called in to reschedule. The soonest I could get was this morning.

This trip to the DMV was better than when I first got licensed here. The front desk clerk was pleasant. I arrived twenty minutes early, filled out a somewhat confusing form, and began the wait. I took a book since I didn't want to miss my number being called because I was listening to my iPod. I tried to strike up conversation with a couple of people who were also waiting, but they ignored me. That's a sad statement about L.A. -- people would rather ignore you than give you two words. I miss the South where people were friendly and interested. I went back to my book and waited for my number. It took no time for them to service me, and they were friendly. I got a new photo, and I'll get my new license in two to three weeks. Whoopee.